1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in game apparatus, and, more particularly, a simulated handball game apparatus which utilizes an air table having a playing piece movably supported on an air cushion.
2. Description of Prior Art
There are commercially available game apparatus which utilize an air table on which a playing piece is supported during movement on the playing surface of the air table by an air cushion. Generally, these forms of game apparatus create an air plenum chamber beneath the playing surface with an air pump or similar means to create under pressure in the chamber. Apertures formed in the playing surface permit the ejection of air through these apertures to thereby create the air cushion and thereby support the playing piece on the air cushion during movement along the playing surface. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,722,888 to Ducharme and 3,887,187 to Crossman, et al. represent several embodiments of an air cushion game which is indicative of the form of air game commercially available. However, such table games have generally been large in size, with the playing surface oftentimes approximating 4 feet by 8 feet because the goals are located at opposite ends of the table.
There are also existing games where a playing piece is movable over a relatively horizontally disposed non-air cushion playing surface and rebounds against a rear wall. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 3,174,752, dated Mar. 23, 1965, to T. Plentis discloses a non-air cushion shuffle board game device where a playing piece is slid over a surface to strike a forwardly presented rebound wall, from which it rebounds rearwardly and comes to rest in a scoring lane. At least portions of the lanes do not have rebound walls, but rather are surrounded by depressed areas into which the play piece will fall if it leaves the lanes. Further, this game does not utilize striker members to continuously hit the play piece back and forth between theplayers.
There is also a commercially available competitive rebound game shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,294 to Breslow which employs a non-air cushion inclined playing surface and a rollable playing piece in the form of a ball. The surface has a rear wall against which the ball is rebounded by the players using a pair of striker members. Since this game uses a rollable playing piece, it clearly does not teach or suggest the use of an air cushion table to facilitate the movement of such a play piece.
It can also be observed that these forms of air table games are limited by their construction to simulate the play of only certain games or sports such as hockey, soccer, etc. For example, there is no known air table game which is capable of permitting the playing of a simulated form of handball wherein two opposing players are located at the same end of the air table game and attempt to rebound a playing piece, representative of a handball, off walls which extend along the opposite end and sides of the table so as to cause the playing piece to enter the opponent's goal area. Moreover, the frame which provides an enclosed area for the playing piece in these prior art devices is also not properly designed to provide a proper movement of the playing piece which is representative of the actual fast and virtually continuous movement of the ball in a sport such as handball. In particular, the playing element would at times slow or stop the play action. As examples, the playing element might come to a stop or be moving slowly at a point not readily accessible to either player, the element might become lodged in a corner of the table, or the element might move in a path so close to a side wall of the table that it is very difficult to strike (at least in a direction other than to cause it to continue to move along such side wall). With reference to the last mentioned problem, the playing element would tend to travel up and back between opposed walls or rebound surfaces, and if such travel path was close to a wall or surface extending between the opposed surfaces it was extremely difficult to interrupt that back and forth movement. While such back and forth movement was fast, it represented a slowdown or lull in the play action of the device.